What did you have to eat?

I am always bringing in homemade food to work. The shop is full of Tupperware and teacups – we even have a rice cooker and, of course, there's Mr Microwave. I bring in tarts, quiches and curries. My colleagues' favourite is Thai green curry and we always have a pot of jasmine tea ready for friends and customers.

I sometimes open up on Sundays and invite friends over for a demonstration in flower arranging to help generate customers, and I always cook them a delicious meal. This time we had Thai dishes: for starters, golden cups (crispy pastry shells) filled with minced chicken and prawn; then crispy rice salad from north-east Thailand; then massaman curry, which was brought over by Middle Eastern families during the Ayutthaya period. For dessert we had homemade coconut and saffron ice-cream and poached pears.

What did you have to drink?

Did it take a long time to prepare?

I started cooking at about 8am and finished at midday. The ice-cream was made the night before. I adore cooking! I plan to open a restaurant in the shop next door.

Did you have to cater for any special dietary requirements?

One of my friends, Hiromi, doesn't eat wheat or dairy so I had to adapt a couple of the recipes slightly. The golden cups usually call for both wheat and rice flour, but I only used rice flour. For the ice-cream I used coconut milk and soya milk, and it worked out fine.

What did you talk about?

We spent the whole time talking about flowers and flower arranging, with a bit of gossip thrown in. We were making corsages from tulips and orchids. We're all quite active in our local community and we were discussing how King's Cross and St Pancras is changing for the better – with new developments and the arrival of Central Saint Martins university.

Did anything go wrong?

No, nothing went wrong at all. It went perfectly well. We had so much fun.

Golden cups with minced chicken and prawn

This dish, from the royal court, combines Thai tradition with Portuguese skill – we borrowed the frilly cup from the Portuguese and filled it with yummy stuff. The cups are quite involved as you need specialist handheld batter moulds, but these filo pastry cups work well.

Dairy-free saffron and coconut ice-cream

This is really quick to make. The secret is in the custard: not enough cream and the ice-cream will be too icy. Once the mix is right, you just chuck it in the freezer and forget about it. Serve with poached fruit.

1 Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and place a smaller bowl on top of the ice. Fill up the large bowl with cold water.

2 Gently heat the milks and saffron on a low heat, taking it off the heat before it reaches boiling point.

3 Beat the egg yolks and palm sugar until they are fluffy and pale.

4 Pour the warm coconut mixture into the eggs and keep stirring.

5 Pour the half-cooked custard back into the pan and stir on a low heat for 7-10 minutes until it becomes thick, then remove from the heat.

6 Pour the custard into the prepared cold bath, keep stirring for a few minutes, then leave to cool.

7 Once the custard is cool, add the honey and a pinch of salt, then churn in an ice-cream machine or freeze.

Win a supply of gourmet coffee

For each get-together we feature, the host will receive a six-month subscription to the UK's largest coffee club, kopi.co.uk. Each month a different, rare bag of coffee, freshly roasted, will be delivered to your door.